Outline

by Smashology

Coral Castle

Ah opened my eyes, wakin’ up from mah sleep. Ah just wanted to relax and this was the closest place Ah found, restin’ mah body on a seat of what seemed to be a train. Not the Friendship Express thought. Ah look through the window: the sky was dark, full with stars. Ah wish Ah’d share this moment with mah family but they’re not here. But not everytin’ is bad ‘cause Ah’m not alone in this trip, along with me is Rarity, the best of mah best friends. Ah heard bathroom’s door bein’ opened and she came out, she was dryin’ her mane with a towel. Proceedin’ to sit next to me she smiled. The strong lights above us illuminated her face more than ever.

“Ah’m glad ya’re back sugarcube” Ah said to her.

“I feel like... new and renovated.”

She dropped the towel and instantly looked through the window, observin’ the horizon. Ah couldn’t help but notice she looked more... How can Ah say this? Healthy but more gauzy and emaciated.

“Are ya ok Rarity?”

“Yes Applejack” she answered me. “I know we’re friends but you are more concerned ‘bout me this time.”

“It’s just... ya look thinner than usual and... are those bruises? Did somethin’ horrible happened to ya back there?”

“No, nothing happened. I’ve been exercising myself lately and no, these are not bruises. It’s the liquid soap from the bathroom” she rubbed her hoof against her coat, the spots vanished. “See? But in the end I’m glad you worry about me.”

She continued lookin’ through the window. Meanwhile Ah was tryin’ to connect the pieces all together.

---

Ah’ve known Rarity for a long time ago. Ah just had this lingerin’ feelin’ ‘bout somethin’. Ah never really had any friends in school that much. They all looked at me strangely. Like Ah was a disease. But one day, Ah met a young girl called Rarity. We skipped, laughed, cried and had so much fun together. Of course we were more opposite than day and night, we were always annoyin’ each other and getting’ even, sometimes with insults and other times with pranks. At first, one would think we hated each other, but in truth it was just our way to behave as friends.

---

Rarity was seein’ a map on the backseat when mah mind was distracted. She was clickin’ on the main stops and checkin’ them as the train stopped.

“Where are we goin’ exactly sugarcube?”

“Oh darling” she said pleased, as she was waitin’ for me to come back from mah imagination. “We need to go to the N Station, where the week of fashion will be taking place. I’m glad you’re accompanying me on this trip, you have no idea how much I appreciate that... despite of what I said before.”

“No problem Rarity.”

She smiled to me, Ah returned her the favor. Suddenly a sound interrupted us, we turned our heads to the left only to discover a saber-toothed creature sittin’ in the middle of the corridor. It looked similar to a reptile but at the same time it had a mammal-like appearance. It had an intimidatin’ semblance and its sight was terrifyin’, like wantin’ to eat us but Rarity wasn’t disturbed by its presence unlike me. A voice from the other side of the corridor calmed the beast.

“Aleksandr” the beast turned around to the sound source, a pony like Rarity and me, and payed attention to her. “Calm down” the creature obeyed. “Come here you little” it retired from us while she tickled its belly, it behaved like mah Winona if ya asked me. Then she proceeded to look at us. She was relaxed with a smile on her face.

“Sorry to interrupted you but I had to do something about it” she directed to us.

“Wait a minute...” Ah said. “Ya look... strangely familiar.”

“Oh, where are my manners?” she cleared her throat. “I’m Teddie Safari, I used to go to the Trade convention in Rainbow Falls.”

Both of us kept quiet. None of us remembered her.

“I think Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy mentioned you once” replied Rarity. “They said you’d an Orthos you wanted to trade” she probably spoke to not have an uncomfortable silence but her presence was already uncomfortable, for me at least.

“Yes I had. Now that two-headed dog has a new owner.”

“How did ya know to calm the beast?” Ah asked doubtful scratchin’ mah head.

“When you dedicated your time to train animals anything can be tamed, even the most ferocious ones” she closed her eyes and rubbed her neck with her hooves, like if she had been hurt.

“Are ya ok?”

“Sure, thanks for worrying about me.”

“No problem darling. Where are you going exactly?”

“To the Ripple Road Station. I should probably take Aleksandr with me.”

Ah raised mah eyebrow doubtful of what she said.

“How you two did met each other?” asked Rarity interested.

“Just right now” Teddie responded as if that was the most normal answer, the beast stepped aside and went to the corner, next to the back door. He resembled peacefulness and lookin’ at the horizon he seemed to reflect his life, Ah was astonished for the wrong reasons but Rarity seemed to take it too good. “He has been here probably for a while, waiting the correct time to get off this train. And in the meantime he has been feeding on the leftovers and the water from the toilet, he has felt alone until now.”

“Leftovers?” Ah asked surprised. “From what?”

A bell rang, from the main door at the front a cart with food came, being pushed by a bipedal creature. He didn’t seemed to be interested on bein’ there but at the same time he seemed to have no choice. “Do any of you want something else?”

Teddie raised her hoof and he obediently went to the call. “Give me two packs of peanuts, a can of peaches, a bottle with mineral water and a big piece of meat for him” the bipedal pulled off the cart the supplies.

“Your ticket please” Teddie pulled out from her outfit a normal train ticket while Aleksandr held a stone plate with his mouth, he snapped the ticket and place the plate on the cart. “Your every wish is my command” then he turned to us. “I can see you two are new around here.”

“Indeed darling.”

“If that’s the case I need to check your tickets ladies” He extended his arm and opened his palm to Rarity. “Just to make sure you’re in the correct journey.”

Rarity pulled out hers from her mane. Ah found that kind of random ‘cause she would never have done that back in Ponyville. “Here’s mine.”

He snapped her ticket and then proceeded to me. Like before he extended his arm and opened his palm but Ah was nervous and he noticed it.

“Your ticket please.”

He glared at me. Ah was sweatin’ so much that Ah swear Ah ended up moisten the seat. To trick him Ah took mah hat off and pretended to search for the ticket but it took longer than expected and he began to lose his patience.

“I don’t have all the time in the world, where’s your ticket?”

Ah gulped and before he could report me quickly Rarity put her hoof in mah hat and pulled out what it looked like mah ticket. He checked it briefly and then proceeded to snap it.

“My name’s Dan, your every wish is my command” he retired instantly. “And for the next time don’t waste my time!”

Ah breathed relaxed and turned to Rarity. “For now just enjoy the ride” she said to me calmly. “Hey Teddie, could you give us some peanuts?”

“Of course” she passed us a pack so we could eat. The reality was... Ah didn’t have a ticket. Ah never had one.

“How did ya do that?” Ah asked her questionin’ what had just happened.

“Don’t you know Applejack?” Rarity yawned, stetchin’ her front legs and givin’ me the pack of peanuts already open. “Inside here you can create everything you want and you can imagine anywhere you go” she fell asleep as Ah munched some peanuts in mah mouth.

---

Somewhere along the way the friendship was lost. Ah couldn’t tolerate Rarity’s fashion stylish thing and she found mah hooves filthy every time we were together. Thanks to Twilight and her first slumber party we reconnected and reestablished our bond. She was an amazin’, funny girl who always made me have fun even in mah darkest moments. And Ah truly thanked her for that.

“I’m so sorry Applejack. It was my fault, if I could switch places with them I would do it.”